Israel Matzav

Maybe the Arabs know something the US doesn't

In testimony before Congressional committees, US State Department officials urged Arab countries to at least maintain last year's level of aid to the 'Palestinians.'

"We will be discussing this with them (Arab states) again and urging them to at least meet the levels (of aid) that they have provided in past years so that the Palestinian Authority can continue to function," Jacob Walles, deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, told a House committee.

"I would see a cutoff of security assistance in a negative light today," said US Lieutenant General Mike Moeller, who directs the international program that has trained 4,761 Palestinian security forces since 2008.

US aid to the Palestinian Authority is running about $550 million this year, Walles said, including $150 million for the program that helps professionalize the security forces.

He said Arab aid to the Palestinian Authority was $78.5 million so far this year, down sharply from $462 million in 2009.

Because of the financial crunch, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has only been able to pay half-salaries recently, including to the security forces trained by Moeller's program, Walles said. He called the situation "very worrisome."

Of course, as you are all aware, both the US House and Senate have threatened to cut aid to the 'Palestinians' if the 'Palestinian Authority' implements its 'unity agreement' with Hamas. But the State Department officials claim that isn't happening.

Walles and Moeller also said that there had been no implementation so far of the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas, and that Abbas' government retains sole authority over the Palestinian security forces.

A sudden cutoff of US aid would halt efforts to train and equip those forces just as they are starting a transition to a "self-sustainment capability," Moeller said.

"I believe that both the Israelis and the Palestinians would see it as a -- it may not be as strong as a breach of faith, but they certainly would be very, very concerned that we are not continuing as their enduring security partners in this important part of the Middle East peace process," he said.

Actually, I think Israelis would view it favorably if the US cut off aid to a 'Palestinian Authority' that included Hamas as a partner.

But there's a more fundamental issue here. Oil prices are actually higher this year than they were last year, which means that the Arab countries - or at least many of them - have more money at their disposal than they did last year. And yet they have drastically cut back their contribution. Maybe the Arab countries know something that the US doesn't or doesn't care to admit.

By the way, for those who don't recognize the name, Jacob Walles is the former US Consul General in 'east' Jerusalem, where for many years he effectively acted as the American ambassador to 'Palestine' and was in constant conflict with Israeli government officials and the IDF.

Labels: Arab aid to Palestinians, Jacob Walles, Palestinian economy, US foreign aid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:32 PM